TrevorR

[quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1477205916' post='3160459']
You really like Wals don't you.
[/quote]

#favebassever

Bah! That YouTube playlist doesn't show how much I like Wals...

...THIS shows how much I like Wals!

http://youtu.be/Cot2EN0JrS0

Alan Spenner... what a bass genius! Mind you, Gary Tibbs wasn't to shabby on his Wal nor was Johnny Gus on a Wal bass built by Wal before he built Wal basses... Thoroughly Waltastic band, Roxy!

Those deserve a proper embed...

[quote name='funkgod' timestamp='1477172310' post='3160389']
If you want a bass to punch through the mix tight and punchy a wal is as good as it gets.
here is the late [u]great [/u]"Alan Spenner" showing how to punch through a mix,
you gotta love his playing....enjoy

[url="http://www.youtube....h/?v=o2V-VzQ8kV0"]http://www.youtube....h/?v=o2V-VzQ8kV0[/url]

[url="http://www.youtube....h/?v=1pv-Iokvimc"]http://www.youtube....h/?v=1pv-Iokvimc[/url]

[/quote]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2V-VzQ8kV0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pv-Iokvimc

The Wal sound couldn't be further from that... Famed for their growl and their middle but humongously versatile too. You might want to have a browse at my blog which should give you quite a bit to chew over...

[url="http://walbasshistory.blogspot.co.uk/"]http://walbasshistory.blogspot.co.uk/[/url]

Then check out some Wal tones in action. Here's my Youtube playlist...

[url="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGIYNBxcSZ3uo0Dv4GUoVf-4yKXu7xmKT"]https://www.youtube....UoVf-4yKXu7xmKT[/url]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1d4r9awjKE&list=PLGIYNBxcSZ3uo0Dv4GUoVf-4yKXu7xmKT[/media]

[font=Calibri][size=3][color=#000000]My “go to”…[/color][/size][/font]

[font=Calibri][size=3][color=#000000][/color][/size][/font]

[font=Calibri][size=3][color=#000000]And my near as darn it “go to”…[/color][/size][/font]

[font=Calibri][size=3][color=#000000][/color][/size][/font]

Tidied up to take account of some cut and paste oddness... Glad you like it. Oddly, it really is the best, most accessible explanation I've come across of how different effects work!

For those who wonder how a chorus or compressor or whatever works and makes the sound it makes I thought I'd post this fab explanation from a sadly defunct effects company. This is just brilliant. Enjoy!

[url="http://www.monkeyfx.co.uk/guides.html"]http://www.monkeyfx.co.uk/guides.html[/url]

[b]Guides[/b]

The MonkeyFX guides were created by Andi Allan as a response to a request for a simple explanation for how an envelope filter works, posted on the Harmony Central forums (acapella.harmony-central.com). Due to enthusiastic response, they grew quickly to the format you see now, i.e. very scruffy indeed.

[b]Envelope Filter[/b]

Envelope filter is a bit like an automatic wah (not to be confused with auto-wah). Imagine that you have a wah pedal and a well-trained monkey.

When you hit the strings hard, the monkey pushes the rocker pedal forwards. As the volume decreases the monkey pulls the rocker pedal back. So the volume envelope of the guitar signal determines the position of the pedal, via the monkey. Now imagine that the monkey is a tiny monkey hidden in a pedal, and that the rocker pedal is a rocker pedal hidden inside your stomp box. Then it's a simple step to imagine that there's actually no monkey or rocker pedal, and that it's all done in electronics.

So basically, if you hit the strings hard you get a treble boost, and as the signal from the strings dies away the boost fades. If you regulate how hard you play, you can get a similar sound to how many people use wah, emphasising the upper frequencies as you hit the strings.

[b]Harmoniser[/b]

A harmoniser is a specialised pitch shifter. I'll break out the monkeys again for an analogy-rich description, if I may.

Imagine that there is a well-trained monkey. This monkey has a pair of headphones on, through which he can hear what you're playing. He also has a guitar that sounds just like your one. There's a dial on the front of the box where you choose what key you're playing in, and another that lets you choose what interval you want (e.g. a fifth, a major third or whatever else). The monkey looks at what you've chosen on the two dials, hears what you're playing and plays a note at that interval in the scale you've chosen. His signal and yours are mixed together and fed back out.

As in previous analogies, imagine that the monkey is inside the pedal/rack unit, and is tiny, with a tiny guitar and a tiny pair of headphones. Then simply imagine that there isn't really a monkey, and that it's all done with some very clever electronics. Ta da!

[b]Analog Delay[/b]

Imagine a line of laid back, hippy monkeys, each with a guitar just like yours. They're sitting on little stools in a cunning arrangement such that each monkey can only hear the monkey sat before him. The first monkey hears what you played, turns to the next monkey and plays it back to him. He then turns, and plays to the next monkey. At each stage, little mistakes are introduced due to the hippy monkeys' inherent laid-back-ness. At the end, the last monkey plays, and his guitar is connected to the output.

The monkeys are in a big big circle, and the first monkey, as well as hearing what you're playing, can also hear the last monkey - but not very well. There's a baffle between them, which cuts down how much he can hear. The first monkey plays both what you're playing and what he can hear of what the last monkey is playing, and this is passed on as before.

Now imagine the monkeys are tiny, as before, with tiny guitars and tiny stools and a tiny baffle. They're in a box. A knob labelled "feedback" controls the baffle. Then, kapoosh! The monkeys disappear and are replaced by a Bucket Brigade chip, and off we go.

[b]Digital delay[/b]

Exactly the same as analog delay, but there are many more monkeys, and they're all actuaries and very precise. Some people miss the laid-back-ness of the hippy monkeys, but many like knowing that little actuary monkeys are taking very good care of what they're playing. Some of the monkeys know special tricks, like making what they play come out of the output even though they're not the last monkey.

[b]Chorus[/b]

Thousands of monkeys are sat on stools in a large hall. Each has a guitar like yours (getting repetitive yet?). They are all sat at different distances from you, and hence hear what you're playing at different times. As soon as you start to play, they all copy what you're playing. In an analog chorus, laid-back hippy monkeys (see analog delay) are used; in a digital delay straight-laced actuary monkeys are used. Because they are all playing just slightly out of sync with you, it gives a much richer, fuller sound. In most types of chorus, the monkeys are actually sitting on an old-style fairground carousel, and therefore each gets nearer and further away from you, hence playing with a different delay as the carousel turns and giving a warbled sound.

Yada yada tiny tiny monkeys yada yada. Nice knob controls how fast the carousel spins. Ta da!

[b]Phaser[/b]

Similar, overall, to chorus, but there are only, typically, 2, 4, 8, or maybe 12 monkeys in total. Phaser gives a sucked, whooshing noise.

[b]Flanger[/b]

Two monkeys. One has a guitar just like yours, but with a tremolo bridge (if yours doesn't have one). He plays the same notes as you, but the other monkey is quite mischievous and is constantly wobbling the tremolo arm up and down. When the sound of the first monkey's guitar is mixed with yours, the subtle pitch differences create a whooshing, almost jet-like sound. Some flangers use several teams of monkey guitarists and tremolo wobblers.

[b]Compression[/b]

Picture the scene. Sicily, 1947. A monkey. With a volume pedal. He has tinnitus, so he doesn't like loud noises, but needs things to be a certain volume level in order to hear them, poor little mite. He is wearing headphones. When you play, if it's too loud, he turns the volume down a little. If it's too quiet, he turns it up. He can do this quite quickly if he wants, but there's a big dial in front of him, telling him how fast he's allowed to turn the volume control. There's another control that determines how loud his headphones are compared to your guitar.

Pop the little chap in a box and paint it (traditionally) blue and off you go. Oh, it might be a good idea to replace him with some sort of electronics gubbins, to save his poor hearing.

Some compressors allow you to have a little effect loop in between your guitar and his headphones, so that you could (for instance) have him only listen to the bass part of your guitar sound, but work the volume control according to that.

[b]Solid State Overdrive[/b]

Take an infinite number of monkeys, each with a guitar. The first is a third the size you are, and plays notes at 3 times the pitch of yours. The second is 1/5th the size of you and plays at five times your pitch, and the third is 1/7th the size of you and plays at seven times your pitch, and so on for the rest. The smaller monkeys are quieter than the larger ones, as you'd expect. They all play along with you, and the sound from each guitar is added into your signal. This gives quite a harsh fuzzy sound.

[b]Tube Overdrive[/b]

As above, but now the monkeys are different sizes. The first monkey and guitar are half the size of yours, and therefore play an octave higher than you. The next is a quarter the size of you, and plays two octaves higher, the next 1/6th the size of you and plays at 6 times your pitch and so on. Again, this gives a fuzzier sound, but one that's much smoother and easier on the ears than the SS overdrives.



[b]Fuzz[/b]

Essentially the same as solid-state overdrive, but the monkeys play louder, with the end result that the sound coming out is very very messy indeed. The monkeys particularly like this, because they get to play good and loud and generally make a racket. Fuzz monkeys are generally fed the most bananas.

[b]Boutique FX[/b]

Boutique FX function in basically the same way as non-boutique FX, with the following differences:

1) They only use free-range monkeys, who are very well fed and trained and love their work.

2) They are almost exclusively made with analog, hippy monkeys.

3) The monkeys, instead of having stools, have comfy designer chairs to sit on. Lay-z-boys are particularly popular. The boxes they live in are also brightly decorated, which the monkeys love.
These factors combine to make many people think that boutique FX produce better sound, due to the happier monkeys. However, these monkeys are very expensive to raise, and so the boutique FX tend to cost many more bananas to buy. There is much debate as to whether it's worth it.

[b]Univibe[/b]

Again, a monkey sitting on a stool. He plays the same thing as you, but there's another monkey spinning the first monkey's stool rapidly. This makes the first monkey dizzy, and the sound his guitar makes is therefore rather warbly. It's like a combination of flanger and chorus. Univibe is seen as rather cruel to the monkey on the stool, and therefore many guitarists prefer the sound of a Leslie speaker cabinet, in which a speaker (or two speakers) is/are rotated by a motor. Many say that the Leslie is much superior in sound as well, but they're bigger, heavier and more expensive than even a boutique monkey based univibe.

When I was playing in a covers band I'd usually take two basses to a gig and swap between them across the set, although I do have one go-to bass. Here's my ranking...

1985 Wal Mk 1 Custom - my number one and true bass love. If I'm only taking one bass it will probably be this one. So lovely to play and so versatile.

1979 Wal Pro IIE - but this runs it a close second and, although it doesn't get used on its own as much, I do use it regularly.

"Signature" Frankenjazz off eBay - this would be my no 3/ and "Ineed an old school looking, 60s style"/"Jazz bass vibe" bass, except that I lent it to a producer chum and he loves it so much I wonder if I'll ever get it back..

1981/2 Aria SB700 - my first ever bass and not played much recently/for several years. However, after a nice set up and new set of D'Addarios at the SE Bass Bash I'm determined to use it a bit more. This Sunday, in fact!

Faith Neptune Titan acoustic bass - only used around the house for practice or if an acoustic look/sound/vibe is needed. Actually probably used more than the Aria til now.

Tony Revell custom built acoustic bass - home use only.

And that's my full set...

Past two of the woods blog on the Wal History site... this time the body woods... No shortage of Wal porn and wood porn here! Enjoy! http://walbasshistory.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/wal-woods-part-2-bodies.html

Past two of the woods blog on the Wal History site... this time the body woods... Enjoy! http://walbasshistory.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/wal-woods-part-2-bodies.html

Past two of the woods blog on the Wal History site... this time the body woods... Enjoy! http://walbasshistory.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/wal-woods-part-2-bodies.html

Will need to think about a transition Wal feature some time...

Oh, and L'Arc En Ciel De Miles and Colibri by Randy Hope Taylor with Incognito...


http://youtu.be/e1hj1pfBamA

For me it's never about flash but feel and so I'll throw in a few Lee Sklar lines from his James Taylor days... JT's version of How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You - any time I play this song, it's his line not the original that I have I never my head. Then there's Your Smiling Face, a bass line that is so full of joy it just makes me grin from ear to ear. Neither are technically complex but each is just perfect to my ears.

Throw in Good Times, of course, along with Thin Lizzy's Dancing In The Moonlight, Johnny and Johnny The Fox Meets Jimmy The Weed, The Enemy Within by Rush and Dearg Doom by Horslips alongside a smattering of Chris Squire... and that's all the basslines I would ever need it stuck on a desert island.

http://youtu.be/zls8DFx9UCw

http://youtu.be/7Fsfod891J0

I don't use these but only because when I got my UE in ears I got a pair of their moulded plugs at a discount as part of the deal. Also can 't praise those enough. Suspect, though, that if those plugs went missing I'd be straight down the ear plug shop for a set of ACS Pros.

Not used it but I note that the belt pack has a stated lower frequency range of 85hz whereas the Shure system (at twice the price) quotes 30hz... I wonder if that's your problem. The receiver just can't handle the bass frequencies?

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1476630261' post='3155768']
No it isn't, the whole point of an active bass is to provide a buffered low impedance output to the bass so that the capacitance of the lead doesn't cause high frequency attenuation in the cable. Having active tone is just a by product of it being powered
[/quote]

+1 on this too.

My formerly passive Aria SB700 has an active buffer preamp (the now defunct but nonetheles wonderful Hollis GX-10) added into the circuit. It just makes the whole bass sound rather more "present" without changing the actual tonality of the bass. And both volume and tone act as standard passive controls. Still it brings an already great sounding bass to life. In fact, at the SE Bass Bash, when Wolverinebass tried it out he was quite befuddled at its snap and clarity of tone until I confessed the mod to him...

Dood, I use a Fischer belt pack but our guitar player found it too bulky. Solution... a small Fischer passive in line belt pack from Thomann, and a custom cable from Obbm (normal Jack to mini Jack) as an extension from the bigger Fischer belt pack that now just sits on his pedal board. Sorted!

Might be the standard Wal Mk 1 Matt lacquer which is very thin and allows the grain to show through a bit. Very unusual, quite unlike a poly or nitro-cellulose gloss finish. As I recall it was melamine based.

Of course, without looking it's difficult to tell and in that transitional phase who knows what Ian and Pete were trying out. Still, the level of work required in a shellac finish does make it seem an unlikely choice. Never know, though.

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1476544819' post='3155122']
My Wal and my Shuker. Neither of them are going anywhere.
[/quote]

Well said that man!

Looks really nice. If I didn t have a VT DI already I'd be grabbing a credit card right now I suspect.

Nice bit of work. Who made the bass. Dead curious...

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1476038031' post='3150725']
I think they look a bit generic but look like a decent bass ergonomically at least. Not sure they will sell that well they have no real stand out features.

Gibson really should just have the eb(sg)and thunderbird maybe the lp bass too, as that's there iconic designs. And they stand out. Are they leaving the eb and thunderbird to Epiphone?
I must say I love the epiphone thunderbird classic but its pretty much a Gibson anyhow same materials nearly the same construction same pickups same woods etc etc.
I would love it if epiphone did the same to the eb basses and made them nearly exactly like the gibson ones instead of the rubbish eb they sell now. Although some would argue the gibson eb0 basses were also rubbish I guess.

If I was gonna design a bass in today's market it would have to be something that made a statement if it tanked ok least I tried but it looks like gibson have not put much effort into the design at all.
[/quote]

Never really taken much account of Gibbo basses as they've never been my thing. However reading the various comments re the Epi basses, I wonder if there's a bit of a "Those Japanese Squiers are three times the vfm of the US product Fender are churning out, especially when you compare the prices" time warp thing going on right now...?

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1476270380' post='3152833']


if an imported Lakland cost as much as a Wal costs now, then I would not be able to have one of those either
[/quote]

Fair enough, just call me Cruely McCruelFace.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1476258280' post='3152679']


you're a cruel cruel man


[/quote]

Not if a Wal costs the same as an imported Lakland!

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1476246609' post='3152625']
Who cares if it's British? What exactly are we proud of? I have zero British pride apart from the fact we have a deeply bizarre sense of humour and we do have fantastic music.

A lot of 'British made' gear isn't even made here! Shuker are one of the rare one offs.

I'm currently in the USA and I heard one American couple (clearly affluent) explaining to their children that England was cold, dark, wet and depressing. The more I thought about it, the more I agreed 😂. They said it was super expensive, and it is.
[/quote]

Erm... I don't t think any of the British comments (unless posted with a huge chunk of tongue shoved firmly in the cheek and accompanying ironic smilies) had any "British is best"/"little England" connotations. Much rather "British is less exchange rate conversions"/"Only basses not carrying hefty import tariffs"/"So much for the Wals are so expensive in comparison to other basses meme" connotations...